Davy's Dragon Castle

 

This is a short story which is suitable for very young children, written by Mary and Michael Schmidt. It is an interesting book which can be used by parents or educators to introduce the topics of inclusion and equality.  The book introduces us to Davy the Dragon who lives in a castle in Dragon Town. Davy is very kind and inclusive. These two themes are found throughout all this book by using simple examples from Davy the Dragon and the way how he treats all those around him without any distinction of their skin (or fur) colour and even if they have a special need.

 

The story has a Christmas setting. The plot involves Davy and his wife Lily, and there are fairies, and squees. The story also introduces us to Tim, a squee who was born with half a leg and who uses a prosthetic one. There is also the Bub Bun Rabbit family who were at first refused entry into the castle by one of the fairies.

 

This story brings to the fore the values that should be instilled into our young generation – those of equality and inclusivity; saying no to bullying and racism. I enjoyed reading this book as, besides the inclusive message, the illustrations on each page are brilliant and very engaging! After reading each page, I stopped to look at the drawings in detail, to see Tim the Squee and his prosthetic leg, to check that Davy had eyes. I felt like a small child again!! Even though I work with 14 to 16 year olds, I could still relate to this story and to how important the values of equality and inclusivity are, whatever the age. We live in a world which is all the time changing and which, unfortunately, is becoming more and more intolerant. Such books as Davy’s Dragon Castle are one way how this intolerance can be countered.